How to create animations

Creating and uploading animations

An animation is a set of instructions that causes an avatar to engage in a sequence of motions. You can create custom animations with commercial and open source tools such as Poser, Blender, and others.

Important: Animations should not be confused with gestures. For information about gestures, see Using gestures and animations.

Residents have created several animation applications especially for Second Life:

• Posemaker - see forum discussion.
• QAvimator - see forum discussion (and see below).
• Slat - see forum discussion.

Uploading animations into Second Life

To upload an animation into Second Life:

1. Save the animation in biovision hierarchy (BVH) format
2. Choose Build > Upload > Animation (L$10)... in the Second Life Viewer.

There is a L$10 fee for uploading an animation. For more information on uploading an animation, see Uploading assets.

Using animations

You can use animations in gestures, but don't confuse the two.

To activate an animation in your inventory, double-click the animation name. This opens a dialog box with the animation name, a field in which to see or enter a description of the animation, and two buttons:

• Play Locally allows you to see the animation, but it will not will be visible to others. This is useful to make sure the animation is really something you want others to see your avatar doing.

• Play Inworld allows those within visual range to see your avatar perform the animation.

Using QAvimator to create animations

The video tutorial below explains how to create and upload animations using QAvimator, a free program for creating animations specifically for Second Life. 
 

Note: This video was created in April 2008 and may contain outdated instructions for the current Second Life Viewer.